Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: John Simm, Richie Campbell, Craig Parkinson, Laura Elphinstone, Brad Morrison, Zoë Tapper, Scott Handy, Brendan Patricks, Rebecca Scroggs, Clare Calbraith, Sam Hoare, Jake Needs, Renny Krupinski, Carolina Valdes, Ray Emmet Brown, Jessica Hayles, Wendy Albiston, Nicky Goldie, Alan Wilyman, Lydia Danistan, Niall Greig Fulton, Ben Crowe, Baker Mukasa, Oisin Stack, Jan Le.
Murder can be straightforward, its often black and white, occasionally grey lines will blur within, but it always frank, sincere, almost uncomplicated; it is the action of emotions, but always without the desire to hide the reason when the culprit is identified; and whilst the response, the detection and the puzzle solved is shrouded in misdirection and distraction, murder is relatively easy to commit.
Murder though is also an illusion, when there is nothing to lose it can become an exercise in creating a fantasy, an event of trickery in an effort to prove that the person with the savage inclination is capable of outwitting all, from citizen to detective, nothing can stop the mind willing to lead all down the route of deception, magic, and deceit if it means they get to kill the person they have set their sights on.
It could be an act of madness, a controlled burst of insanity that leads to such a decision, a cold hatred of revenge heated up after decades of being misjudged, and misplaced, and as Peter James’ Detective Superintendent Grace is thrust into one of his most perplexing mysteries, as the act of illusion becomes the art of murder in Want You Dead, so the viewer is gently nudged into the realm of compassion, of not observing the possibility in all aspects of Roy Grace’s life, and all those who come under his sphere of influence, friend, colleague, lover, or foe, could be placed in harm’s way
The more enigmatic the mystery, the more the audience can feel involved, and by some margin this particular tale is to be seen as one of undying appreciation to subterfuge, a sleight of hand by the writer and production team which gives the entire episode a wonderfully cryptic fascination, a delve into the mind of a killer to whom life has been reduced to a game.
Want You Dead is also a charm of its own accord as it shows just how far you might go for love, the direction it can send people, and in each couple highlighted the belief in their relationship was tempered by the obstacles they have had to face along the way. Murder and love, both can be easy, both are possibly illusionary, it is the armchair detective to whom makes the decision to which one we are all guilty of.
A classic example of the why done it, and the games people play when they reach the end of the tether.
Ian D. Hall